the wedding in florida
Jen and Frank’s wedding was really nice. It was on a warm, super-windy beach in Pensacola. The ceremony was really short, but pleasant, fun, and relaxed. The groomsmen all wore Hawaiian shirts and the bridesmaids were all barefoot. It was nice.
There are at least two stories worth relating, from the trip.
While Gloria’s parents and I were eating lunch, her father got a phone call. “Hello? … No, no. … What? … No, I /paid/ for the cake already! … I paid the whole thing, the down payment and the balance, yesterday! … I paid it /to/ the baker! … What!? He’s where?! … The chef is in /jail/!?”
So, we finished lunch in a hurry and tried calling some other local bakeries to ask for an emergency cake. It didn’t go so well, and we figured maybe we’d be able to get the undecorated cake (assuming it was baked and frosted) and put some flowers on it, or maybe get some cakes from the market. We went over to the bakery, to see what was going on, and were thankfully assured that they’d already found a solution. Some other decorator would come in to decorate the cake. Jen just had to reiterate some of the changes they wanted to the cake. It turned out just fine, even if it did melt a little in the heat. The slice I had was white cake with raspberry jam and butter-cream frosting. I liked it.
There was supposed to be some sort of concert on the beach after the ceremony, and while we were setting up, they started to play some really loud rock music. While everyone else looked around, wondering what to do, Frank walked over and talked with the sound guys. It seemed to go well, and as he walked back, they turned down the music. Strangely, though, the pastor was walking over to them too, now, as Frank walked away. He got up to the (I think) lead rocker and gave him a big hug and they laughed and patted each other on the back. It was far away, so I don’t know what they said, but the pastor later said, “If you’re a Pensacola rocker, I probably know you!”
So, the guys with the massive sound gear later played the wedding music, which was great! We had only had a little boom box, which surely wouldn’t have been audible over the wind. (Honestly, I don’t know that anyone standing further from the couple than I stood could hear anything, and I was standing nearly directly behind them.)
Anyway, the whole thing was good, even if (as with any trip) there were parts that weren’t piles of fun. One minor unsuspected pleasure was getting stuck in the in-laws’ house with Gloria’s dad. We talked for an hour or more about a number of things, including unix and the state of the IT industry. It was enjoyable.
The next wedding we’ll attend is in early June. I’m looking forward to it (it’s the wedding of my own best man), but I’m also looking forward to having a calendar free of upcoming weddings for a while.